Parents Are Happier Than Non-Parents

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Parents may not be the overtired, overworked and all-around
miserable individuals they are sometimes made out to be, suggests
new research finding Mom and Dad (particularly fathers)
experience greater levels of happiness and meaning from life than
non-parents.

"This series of studies suggest that parents are not nearly the
'miserable creatures' we might expect from recent studies and
popular representations," study researcher Elizabeth Dunn, of the
University of British Columbia, in Canada, said in a statement.
"If you went to a large dinner party, our findings suggest that
the parents in the room would be as happy or happier than those
guests without children."

Even so, Dunn told LiveScience, "We're not saying parents are
walking around in this amazing state of bliss either."

Specifically, the research finds that
parents are happier when they are caring for children than
during other daily activities; across the studies that formed
this research, the happiness bump was seen most consistently in
fathers and in parents who are older and married. [ 7 Things That
Will Make You Happy ]

"We find that if you are older (and presumably more mature), and
if you are married (and presumably have more social and financial
support), then you're likely to be happier if you have children
than your childless peers," study researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky,
of University of California, Riverside, said in a statement.
"This is not true, however, for single parents or very young
parents."

The research, to be published in a forthcoming issue of journal
Psychological Science, adds to a mix of data on the lives of
parents and their kids. IFor instance, a study published in the
Journal of Health and Social Behavior in 2006 found that
kids can be depressing, with parents in the study having
higher levels of depression than adults without kids; another
study, this one published in 2011 in the journal Psychological
Science, suggests that even seemingly cheery parents may be
hiding something. That study suggested parents tend to oversell
how happy their kids make them when faced with the
financial reality of parenthood.

In the current research, the researchers conducted three studies
to test whether parents are happier overall than their childless
peers, if parents feel better moment-to-moment than non-parents,
and whether parents experience more positive feelings when taking
care of children than during their other daily activities. In one
study, they used data from the World Values Survey, encompassing
more than 6,900 U.S. adults, about half being female.

Fathers in particular expressed greater levels of happiness,
positive emotion and meaning in life than their childless peers.

"Interestingly, the greater levels of parental happiness emerged
more consistently in fathers than mothers," Dunn said. "While
more research is needed on this topic, it suggests that the
pleasures of parenthood may be offset by the surge in
responsibility and housework that arrives with motherhood."

The researchers also found that the stresses associated with
single parenthood did not wipe out the greater feelings of
meaning and reward associated with having children.

"We are not saying that parenting makes people happy, but that
parenthood is associated with happiness and meaning," Lyubomirsky
said. "Contrary to repeated scholarly and media pronouncements,
people may find solace that parenthood and child care may
actually be linked to feelings of happiness and meaning in life."

And happy parents may be the best parents, according to previous
research from the Understanding Society survey in the U.K.,
released in April of 2012, indicating that happy parents make for
happier kids.

"Happiness is a central life goal for people around the world and
has been associated with numerous positive outcomes for work,
relationships, and health," the researchers write in the journal
article. "Consequently, one implication of our research is that
to the extent that parenthood is associated with happiness,
children may benefit as well."